Last week, we went to a restaurant in my quest for a really good Japanese restaurant in my area. However, this blog is not about the restaurant. This blog is about my “hero” of the moment. As we waited for our food, I noticed that a young girl came into the restaurant to order food to go. She was about 12 years old. Next to her was her brother, about 5 years old. She was holding onto a toddler who was less than 2 years old, and in the stroller was a baby. Wow! That wasn’t all. She was a considerate babysitter. She entered the restaurant and pushed the carriage in. Instead of having it in the doorway, she manuevered it behind the other double door that didn’t open, so it wasn’t in other customer’s way. When the toddler girl started crying, she carried her outside so that the crying didn’t disturb the customer. She and her little brother entertained their little sister while they waited for their order. She would check up on her baby sibling periodically. When it came time to pay, the older girl paid but didn’t have enough money, so the little boy took out money from his red envelope to pay for their lunch.

I don’t know their story. Perhaps their parents have to work to put food on the table and count on her to take care of her three younger siblings. Or maybe it’s a single parent home, and someone is home drunk. Or… it could be many things, but I was struck with her willingness to selflessly help – there was no signs of impatience or frustration, her maturity to know what to do and how to handle herself in her environment, and how well behaved all the children were. I know many grownups and most children can’t compare. Speaking for myself, the idea of hanging out with three young children on my own would send fright signals up my spine, let alone the ability to actually care for them and above that, take them outside the home!